Hubble has been an peerless resource for interstellar and intergalactic astronomy , but its skills can also be unbelievable fornearby object .
In this latest case , astronomer from the Planetary Science Institute ( PSI ) used the place telescope to receive high-pitched - resolution images of Comet 252P / LINEAR , a periodic comet that orbits between the orbits of Earth and Jupiter .
The comet ’s closest approach to the Sun was on March 21 this class , and stargazer took this fortune to honour it . The images get hold of a resolution of 1.6 kilometers ( 1 Admiralty mile ) per picture element , 10 times sharp than any previous priming - found observation of this comet .
“ Comet 252P is one of the low comets we know of . Our main goal is to mold its size and study how comets become smaller and minor as they choke around the Sun , ” said PSI Senior Scientist Jian - Yang Li , who led the project , in astatement .
“ From this we will infer the properties of build blocks of planets at the kickoff of the Solar System . In gain , we will also read other dynamic properties of the comet , such as its rotation and how it free dust under the heating of the Sun . ”
The narrow jet is clearly seeable in in these three images of Comet 252P / LINEAR . NASA / ESA / J.-Y. Li ( Planetary Science Institute ) .
The picture show how active the small-scale nucleus became with a narrow , well - defined green of dust go out ejected by the comet . But it ’s increased distance from the Sun means the comet is now too small to produce a large tail .
252P / LINEAR was most likely an physical object that originated very near Jupiter , with the gargantuan satellite make such a great perturbation that for the last 400 geezerhood its domain has stretched further and further towards the Sun . Now the comet comes around every 16 years , and this sentence it was only 5.5 million klick ( 3.3 million miles ) from us , about 14 times the Earth - Moon distance .
“ Because comets are usually only a few kilometers in size , and probably less than 1 klick for this comet , dependable measurement of sizing is best done when they are tightlipped to us , ” said Li . “ That ’s why the close approach to Earth of this comet offered us a great opportunity to consider it . ”
